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Sunday August 20, 2023

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For our religious leaders in every nation. May we seek the healing gift of Christ Jesus. May we listen attentively to the needs of those who wait for justice.

We pray to the Lord.

For the people of Maui. May those devasted by fires, loss, and grief be held in the love of Christ Jesus. May we help rebuild people’s lives and work to sustain our beautiful and fruitful land.

We pray to the Lord.

For people waiting to be healed. May people who ache for adequate healthcare and affordable medications find justice in our care for every human being.

We pray to the Lord.

For our children who begin a new school year. May our youth find their true passions, their gifts and their talents for the common good of our world. May their imaginations be ignited and their hearts be broken open.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who wait for the healing touch of Christ Jesus. May people suffering from mental illness and physical disease find hope and courage to manage their lives.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who long to capture the love and attention of Christ Jesus. May people who cannot bear their suffering find new hope in the miracle of the Lord’s presence. May we find more than scraps to feed us at this Eucharistic Table.

We pray to the Lord.

For vocations to serve within the Church. May our young find ways to support the Church’s life of prayer and service among God’s beloved poor.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who grieve the loss of a loved one. May we steady our lives in the assurance of God’s healing presence.

We pray to the Lord.

For our loved ones who have died. May our beloved find joy and peace around the banquet of the Kingdom for all eternity.

We pray to the Lord.

Tuesday August 15, 2023

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Dear Followers of Jesus,

In Luke 1:39-56, Mary, pregnant with Jesus, encounters Elizabeth who is pregnant with John. Even the two unborn children seem to greet each other. This communion of love offers us a glimpse of the beauty of Mary’s life and fidelity.

God desires communion with us and we desire communion with God. In Mary’s, “yes”, she remains open to receive God and she holds in her heart all the she longs for. She maintains the love and promise of God given to her as a young girl.

In her communion with Elizabeth, Mary speaks the words of a prophet. Mary declares from her young lips that God scatters the proud in their conceit. He casts down the mighty from their thrones. He lifts up the lowly. The hungry are fed with good things and the rich are sent empty away.

Mary held in her heart all that was important for her entire life. Her prophetic witness to God was manifest in her heart, in her willingness to bear a son and care for him until death. Mary knew God’s desire for her and for the world.

We are called to do the same. We celebrate Mary’s Assumption this day because we understand that her heart held God’s desire for her and for us. She was the first to receive the promise of her Son, that heaven would be open to us all.

We are challenged to hold what is most important within our hearts. We are being formed as prophets since we know Jesus Christ. We desire communion with Him. We desire all that is good for the world and for our wellbeing. We can’t forget our witness to God’s fidelity toward us. We can’t forget his love for us under heaven. Mary challenges us not to forget and to live our lives as bearers of such a mystery, that Jesus Christ died and rose to save all people.

 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty

Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, 1894-1941

This is a crude finger painting. It is meant to be incomplete and simple because there is no easy way to interpret this man’s faith, life and death. This Polish Franciscan priest died in Auschwitz on this day in 1941.

Crown: The red crown was given to him in a vision when he was 12 years old. He had a vision of Mary who presented him with two crowns, one white that would become his reward in heaven, then a red crown, representing his martyrdom. He accepted both crowns from Mary, the Mother of God. 

Mary, the Mother of God: Mary’s appearance to Maximilian gave him purpose in life. Notice how the blue beads of the rosary co-exist and even blend into the barbed wire. I must believe that the painful pieces of wire in the concentration camp became a rhythm of prayer for him. The wire knots of the fence became a sequence of prayer so that he could keep his faith alive. As the artist, I hold on to this notion. 

The brown shirt: Fr. Kolbe was a Franciscan priest. He dedicated his life to the proclamation of the gospel; the passion, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. The red mark represents the martyr of martyrs, Jesus. 

The prisoner uniform: At the same time, he was a prisoner and his number was, 16670.

The drops of blood on his face: There were ten people put to death by lethal injection. The blood stains represent those who died with him. The blood comes from the martyrs crown. He took the place of a man who had a wife and children. That man was then present at this canonization in 1982. 

The green background: The green background represents hope for the people who died and hope for the people who lived through such anguish and suffering. The green backdrop invites us all into our own suffering and the realization that “everything will be all right.” I believe this message is the key to his priesthood. I know it is the eternal message of my own priesthood. 

The gold halo: Maximilian’s halo is hope to us all, that our faith in Jesus, in the suffering of this world, leads us safely home. 

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Sunday August 13, 2023

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Francis, our Pope, and ____, our Bishop. May their leadership steady the lives of people in poverty and give hope to all who seek Christ Jesus.

We pray to the Lord.

For all people who hunger and thirst for God’s love. May the marginalized and the lowly find hope on the solid ground of God’s mercy and kindness.

We pray to the Lord.

For our children who begin school this season. May our youth encounter hope in life and may they discover their true gifts and talents for their future.

We pray to the Lord.

For people surviving storms, draughts, floods and environmental changes. May we learn new ways to find hope in the chaos of earthly life.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who struggle with emotional turmoil and mental illness. May we support our loved ones who face such loss and grief.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who farm our lands and support us with summer crops. May we support our local farmers and those who tend to the earth’s resources.

We pray to the Lord.

For our elderly who sink into loneliness and depression. May they cling to the love God has for them. May we learn to comfort and console people who are sick and discouraged.

We pray to the Lord.

For people lost in turbulent marriages. May we have the courage to reach beyond our fear to Christ Jesus.  May the tensions in our commitments ease in God’s mercy and love.

We pray to the Lord.

For our beloved dead. May our loved ones who have reached the eternal shore find hope for all eternity.

We pray to the Lord.

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